The Elements
by LightNote19
Summary: What if Finnick was there when Katniss was starving of hunger and when Peeta threw her the burnt bread? What if Katniss fainted before she could reach it? And what if Finnick saved her from hunger? Finnick Odair/ Katniss Everdeen. Some Peeta bashing but don't worry, he isn't the bad guy. T for now cause I might suck at writing lemon but we'll see.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first Hunger Games Fanfiction so I hope you enjoy. I don't update often because I'm lazy and no one comments enough to keep me motivated to write any chapters and to tell you the truth the chapter wasn't suppose to end like it was but if I did try to finish it you wouldn't be able to read it until weeks from now. When I write I know where its going I just don't know how to get there. So if you're patient then the next chapter will come soon. Its ok if you curse me out asking for another chapter. That just makes me motivated….. but don't be too mean. So without further ado read my fucking story**

**Disclaimer: If I owned these characters, Katniss would be fucking Finnick right now.**

**Author's Note! This chapter is revised! Yay! None or less grammer and spelling problems that keep people from following, favoriting or reviewing...I'm looking at you other 100 plus viewers.**

**Chapter 1 Before the Fall**

**I first met her after I won the 69****th****Annual Hunger Games. It was during the Victor's tour and it was raining in district 12. I remember there was always a feeling of dread and desperation outside the rundown buildings of Panem's poorest district. My escort, whom name I've failed to remember even with the time I've spent with her, says I shouldn't wonder, but I couldn't bring myself to stay cooped up in this empty village with the constant reminder that I was alone.**

**I didn't bother with a heavy coat with hopes that maybe that I would 'accidently' freeze to death. I saw that the district, after what seems like days of slush and rain was burdened with people marching around in the mud going to work in utter silence. I walk by all of them with their eyes giving little to no recollection of whom I was as if I was like everybody else: another dead man walking. As I stepped further and further into the district I arrive at a fence that stretched miles from right to left. I hiked closer and heard an almost non-existent hum of electricity coming from the closure. This was the border of district 12. I've heard stories that people have made it passed the gate, passed the mountains and forests and reached the Atlantic Ocean to freedom. My mother always said that 12 made the stories up like common fairy tales to tell their kids.**

**I look past the fence and get a glimpse of the huge dying forest just a mile away. It reminded me of the Games. In arena, the atmosphere was cold and dying and it was hard not to notice a tribute walking towards you yards away because of the crunch of the frosted grass and leaves. The ominous natures made me feel anxious, remembering too much of that time, so I started to backtrack through the tall grass away from the electrical wires and started heading towards the Victor's village.**

**The cold rain started to come down heavier than earlier and I started shaking from the fast winds hitting me in the back. My clothes were nearly soaked but I didn't give it much thought until the water started to sink into my shoes.**

**It has been several minutes since I've left the gate and I find myself curling into my chest to keep the wind from attacking my vulnerable parts of my body. I was slowly making myself to the richer part of the community when I saw her.**

**She was deathly pale and skinny. I would have thought she was dead if it wasn't for her efforts to crawl closer to a post to keep her-self up. It was getting late and the sky was changing from its watery grey to a darker hue. It was then that I heard a noise from the house in front of her and saw a woman shouting in a boy's face. I hid from their view using the shadow of a roof from an abandoned house that was keeping me mostly out of the rain. I could still see the girl and the two people that were just under the roof of the porch.**

**The woman was old and shrill, shouting insults to the boy's face while he just took it. I felt bad for him. My parents never did anything too ill-tempered towards me. It was even my father who taught me how to use a trident to keep our family feed. After time went by and my dad got too old to go out by himself I had to be the one to make sure my family survived. I was one of the lucky ones. My whole district is lucky that it was established as its imports as seafood, otherwise we would be just like as district 12.**

**I saw the women I would assume were his mother, hit him repeatedly. She was shouting about two loafs of bread that were half burn. Apparently he wasn't watching them, so he made a mistake. She went back inside after handing the boy the burnt bread. He stepped over to the pig pin that was station right beside the bakery until he finally saw the girl lying against the post in front of the building. I got a good look at him as he stepped closer to the edge of the porch. He had ashy blonde hair with a stocky build and strangely he looked healthier than the other people in his district. In my period here I've notice that even the rich were a little underweight.**

**There was a look of recognition going across his face but he didn't step closer to help her. I saw her eyes start to become unfocused and the next thing I knew the half a burnt loaf of bread was laying in the mud only a few feet from her body. The boy's face filled with regret, but it was too late now, the food was getting soaked in the rain and he just hurries back inside.**

**I saw her desperately trying to reach the only food that might keep her alive another day but her eye lids were slowly shutting, and then she fainted into the cold wet dirt.**

**My eyes went wide when I saw she stopped moving. I didn't know what to do. It was now completely dark outside and the rain just continued to pour down. But I couldn't just leave her there, not when she could still be alive. Thoughts raced in my head of someone dying because of my powerlessness to do anything that could help them survive******. ******Stepping back into the cold shower I raced towards her. I flipped the girl over and check for a pulse to see if she was still alive. My fingers brushed just under her jaw to feel a faint heartbeat, but only barely. She didn't respond when I tried to wake her up. Not knowing where she lived to take her back to her family, I decided to just make a run for the Victor's Village. I didn't know how much time I had before she was gone completely.**

**Picking her up in my arms bridal style along with the burnt bread, I ran past all the houses and buildings till I got to the gates of the empty apartments. The side of my body pushed the gate open, then I ran to my 'rented' flat. Laying her down on my couch, I started to tug her clothes off to keep her from getting sick. I stopped once a revealed her bra and underwear and ran to my room to find a shirt she could sleep in. I walk back over to the couch and lift her up to put on the shirt. Laying her gently back down in front of the fire I have left aflame before I'd gone, I went to the kitchen to make her something to eat.**

**The pot of porridge was on the stove and I waited for it to finish cooking. Once it was done, I filled the small bowl with the meal and walked back to the unconscious flames from the fire place left a soft glow to her white skin making her look healthier than what she really was. I laid the porridge down and lifted her up pulling her to my lap. I tried to wake up her up as best I could, shaking her smacking her face lightly so not to hurt her.**

**"****Come on, come on, wake up!" I said in her ear. I look back up at her eyes and see them slightly opened.**

**"****Hey! Hey! Don't go back to sleep, you need to eat something." I said rushing my words out so she heard. She tries to speak but all that came out were shallow breaths.**

**"****W…wh..." she tried to say.**

**"****Shhhhh, its ok. Everything's ok, but you need to eat something before you pass out again." I urge her as I bring the spoon to her mouth. She felt small in my hands. I felt her ribs pushing against my stomach and her hip bone pushing through the oversized shirt. Her hair which was still damp from the rain was now unraveled making a halo of sprayed out waves around her face.**

**"****What is your name?" I whispered to her while looking at her face.**

**"****K…Katniss…" she croaked.**

**"****Katniss, I need you to eat before you starve. I don't know how much longer your body has…" I said as I try to push the spoon of food through her mouth. She opens her mouth wide enough for me to dump the porridge past her teeth. She swallowed the squishy food slowly. I got her to eat half of the small bowl before she passed out again in my arms.**

**I lay Katniss back on to the red velvet couch and wrap her in a heavy blanket to make sure she stays warm.**

**The house was only lit by the fire and the moon outside was hidden behind the clouds making everything in district 12 eerily dark. After I stand up straight I actually take time to look around the room. It was pretty big, but cozy with its white fluffy carpet and its warm colored furniture littered in front of the chimney. The walls were painted a creamy white and had pictures of the landscapes found in other districts. They looked beautiful, but if felt like a lie just looking at them. They didn't so show the districts for what they truly were. They didn't show the emptiness, the grief, or the indifference that passes through everyone when they see another one of their people die in that arena.**

**I turn away from all of them and look back at Katniss, and then an idea popped into my head.**

**"****Haymitch…"**

**I leave Katniss to her rest and rush to the door and back outside into the chilly weather. I first met Haymitch after the chariot ceremony. He walked over after he got done talking to his dirt covered tributes and I could smell the alcohol spew from his mouth as he greeted Mags. He had shabby blond hair, cloudy blue eyes with a five o'clock shadow. Haymitch didn't say much to me but a simple 'hi', but I got a feel for his personality when I heard him talk about his tributes. He sounded indifferent, like everything going around him didn't matter.**

**Once I got to a flat just a few doors down the left from mine, I start pounding on the mahogany wood hoping that someone will answer it soon before the cold gets to my bones. After a few times of knocking on the door I decide to turn the knob and hope that maybe there was some miracle that it was unlocked.**

**And what do you know! The door swung open.**

**I stepped inside and looked around the hallway to see if there was any life that so happened to be standing nearby but I only saw darkness. I closed the door behind me and stepped further into the house, until I came across the dining room where the table and floor was beset with glass bottles.**

**Other than the trash lying around, I saw a man slumped in his chair snoring with a beer bottle held loosely in his grip. I walked closer to him and along the way I tripped on the trash making an awkward noise before I could compose myself. I looked back up after I gained my footing, what I assumed was Haymitch, made no indication that I was even near him.**

**After I finally got to his side I tried to shake him awake, but he only stopped snoring before he started up again. Looking around the table, I saw a glass, picked it up and smelled its contents. It was water. I wished myself luck, and splashed the half full glass of water on his head.**

**"****What the hell!" Haymitch then shoots up with a butter knife in his hand, snapping his head around the room to find the culprit that made him wake up. His eyes finally landed on me and it didn't seem he recognized me.**

**"****Who the hell are you?" he grunts.**

**"****Finnick; Finnick Odair. I'm the Victor of District Four. We met after the chariot ceremony, remember?" I said as I raised my hands up in surrender. The old man started to lower his weapon.**

**"****Oh it's you…" I frowned when he sounded disappointed.**

**"****So what brings you to my neck of the woods, Fishboy?" Haymitch walked out of the room towards the kitchen and started opening up cabinets.**

**"****I need your help…" I said.**

**"****With what?" He finally came across a bottle of pills, in which he then sighed in relief.**

**"****A girl…"**

**Haymitch interrupted me and burst out laughing. I stared, waiting for him to stop snickering. "Hahaha, you came to me for advice about…" He didn't finish his sentence, because he couldn't contain his laughter.**

**"****Hehe, you don't need my help in that department Fishboy."**

**I glared at him waiting for his obnoxious amusement to end. "Are you done?" I asked impatiently.**

**"****Yeah, yeah I'm done." He said smugly. "So, what about this girl?" I stayed standing as Haymitch leaned against the kitchen counter still smiling.**

**"****I saw her…"**

**"****Oooo, love at first sight!"**

**"****As I was saying! I saw her out in the rain starving to death…" I said as my voice got shaky.**

**"****Welcome to District 12." Haymitch said grimly. He got off the counter and started looking through the refrigerator. "What were you doing outside of the Village anyway; could have sworn I heard your escort tell you to stay indoors." He finally stood back up from the fridge and pulled out a half empty bottle of whiskey.**

**"****I needed some fresh air." I said.**

**"****Of course you did." He said taking a swig of alcohol.**

**"****I couldn't leave her so I took her back to my apartment." The old victor spat the whiskey out of his mouth and looked at me like I had grown five heads.**

**"****You brought her...do you have a death wish!?" he shouted at me.**

**"****Where was I going to take her!?" I shouted back.**

**"****Not here!" He starts rushed over to me and looked me in the eye. "Do you not understand that taking someone into the Village is a crime punishable by death. If any of the peace keepers see's her you AND me..." he shook his head, "and her are dead."**

**My eye's widen and I started to look at my feet in thought. Haymitch grunted and started walking back to the chairs in the dinning room. I looked back up at him. "I couldn't just leave her there..." I said in a whisper.**

**" ****You have until tomorrow afternoon to get her out of here unnoticed."Haymitch sighed. I nodded my head. "Yes but I don't know who she is. I had to carry her here and i doubt she could walk by herself. Where she stays probably on the other of the district..."**

**"****Why don't you ask her where she lives?" he said like it was the most obvious question.**

**"****She's knocked out." I said dead-plain.**

**Haymitch rolled his eyes and handed me the bottle he was drinking out of. "Use this. Bring it back when you're done." He then walks away to what I assume was the bedroom and slams the door shut.**

**So I left and walked back to my apartment and found Katniss where I left her. I looked at the clock and it was only ten o'clock at night.**

**I walked closer to the couch and saw her face peaking through the covers. She looked peaceful. I couldn't tell because of how skinny she was but she looked like a 9 year old. I could just wake her up until morning, but she's been sleeping for two hours already. I didn't want her to be waking up in the morning before I did.**

**I took the whiskey bottle and put it under her nose.**

**She sucked in some air and started coughing. She looked around in confusion and finally laid her eyes on me.**

**"****Who are you?" she said sitting out quickly and pushing her body to the edge of the couch.**

**"****Where am I?" she said louder. I stepped near her to calm her down but she proceeded to fall off the couch and run to the corner of the living room with her back against the wall.**

**Her eyes were wide with fear and she was shaking like she was back in the rain again. "Katniss..."**

**"****How do you know my name?" she snapped.**

**"****Because you told me..." I said as I walked slowly past the couch to her.**

**"****Stay back!" she shouted pressing further into the wall.**

**"****I'm not going to hurt you Katniss. Do you remember me? I'm Finnick Odiar. I'm the victor for the sixty-ninth Hunger Games..." I tried desperately for her to understand and to calm down but if I tried to take one step she'd flinch.**

**I stopped walking towards her and looked at her body language to find something that might show me what she was afraid of. She was in a defensive stance but there was nothing indicating she was scared of me. I didn't understand.**

**"****What are you afraid of?" I asked. That got a reaction out out of her. She glared at me, but she didn't out of the corner.**

**"****I'm not afraid." She said quickly.**

**"****Oh? Then why are you backed up into a corner?" I asked her with my eyebrow raised. After that she proceeded to glare at me more, but she didn't move from the wall.**

**"****I've killed over 7 people in the last week Katniss, I don't plan on doing it again anytime soon. I'm not gonna hurt you Katniss." I said. I reached my hand out to her and patiently and waited. She looked at my hand and back at my face. She slowly stepped forward and took my hand and I slowly lead her to the couch. We sat down with our knees close to our chest, while the fire was still roaring beside us.**

**"****You never answered my question." she said breaking the silence.**

**"****Huh?" I asked.**

**"****Where are we?" she asked again.**

**"****Oh, we are in the Victor's Village."**

**Yup, that ending sucked but what are you gonna do? REVIEW OF COURSE!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note! Another chapter revised. This one I think had less problems than the rest. **

**Chapter 2 Before the Fall Part 2**

**She inhaled sharply and jumped up off the couch. "Oh my gosh!" She started really looking around coming to terms with the setting she was in.**

**"****Wait!" I saw where she was heading.**

**"****I gotta get out of here!" she started towards the door like mutts were on her heels but I grabbed her wrist before she could reach the knob.**

**"****Katniss!" I tried to get her attention but she kept on pulling.**

**"****Let go of me. I have to get back!" I lost my grip on her and I thought 'she's pretty strong for a little girl.' She ran out the apartment into the cold with only a shirt covering her.**

**"****Katniss wait!" I yelled, running out the door. Before she made it half way towards the gate, she fell into the wet ground. She tried to get back up but she seemed to stop. I almost made it to her until I stopped in my tracks.**

**It was the peacekeepers.**

**I gasped and held my breath and stopped moving as Katniss did. There was three of them walking outside of the gate probably on guard duty.**

**"****Katniss…" I whispered out to her. She didn't look away from the gate and I was worried that they would see us through the darkness. I saw her start crawling back towards me and I start walking back aswell. The peacekeepers were just talking to each other, too far away for me to hear, which means we are too far away for them to hear our shouting from earlier.**

**The cold was quick to get to my bones and I looked down and saw Katniss shaking because of it too. I walked back towards her and tried to lift her flinched away from me and I just shrugged it off like she forgot I was still behind her. Once I got her to stand up we moved faster towards the door and made it inside but not before I saw one of the peacekeepers look this way.**

**I closed the door behind us quickly and turned to Katniss who was sighing in relief.**

**"****Fuck…" She muttered while putting a hand on her forehead in frustration. I raised an eyebrow at her comment. She looked up from her feet and rolled her eyes at me.**

**"****Shut up Odair." She said then turned around and started for the couch.**

**"****Well, that was entertaining." I followed behind her and plopped myself on the couch too.**

**"****Entertaining? We almost got caught."**

**"****Yeah well maybe somebody shouldn't have rushed out the door and listened to me before we could have almost got caught!" I shouted back.**

**"****Why did you bring me here? Are you trying to get us killed!" She shouted even louder with her body half way off the furniture.**

**"****Oh, so you just wanted to lay there in the mud starving to death then?" I said accusingly.**

**She was about say something else but she closed her mouth and glared at me. "What?"**

**"****I was walking out getting some air when I saw you Katniss, half dea. I saw a boy threw you some bread but..." I said shaking my head.**

**I looked on the play of expression on her face while I was saying this. She looked angry and embarrassed. I didn't understand why.**

**"****Well, I guess I should go thank the boy shouldn't I?" She said looking away.**

**"****Why should you?" I said back. She turned her face to me. "He didn't even have the decency to ****_han_****d it to you." I noticed the hint of anger behind those words but I didn't give it much thought.**

**"****He threw it into the mud and you couldn't even reach it Katniss. You faint before your fingers could even brush it." I looked towards the burnt bread on the kitchen counter. She saw me and looked at in the same direction and saw the piece of loof.**

**I looked back at her. "I tried to wake you up so you could tell me where you lived but you were too far gone. So I carried you back here." She stopped glaring at me and looked back at the fire.**

**"****You didn't have to do that." she muttered.**

**"****I wasn't gonna let you die. I promised myself that not another death will be my hand."**

**"****But it wouldn't have been."**

**"****It would have… if I had left you there, it would have been my fault." I said looking into her.**

**We stayed in a silence for a few minutes just thinking to ourselves. The fire was getting dimmer but none of us bothered to keep it aflame.**

**"****When do the peacekeepers leave?" she finally asked.**

**"****They usually switch out in the morning but most of them will leave an hour before my train arrive. I think that would be a good time to send you back."**

**"****No I have to leave in the morning."**

**"****Why?" I asked in confusion.**

**"****My sister and mother need to be feed, I have to go back out and find food…"**

**"****Find food where? Doesn't seem as if you knew where some food was or you would have found it before you became unnourished." I accused her.**

**Her eyes pierced through me. She was hiding something. A smirk began to appear on my face. "What are you hiding?" I asked and that only seemed to piss her off more.**

**"****Thats none of your business." she said curling away from me.**

**"****Come now, the odds are always in our favor aren't they?" I said not sure if it was in a sarcastic manner, but guess not because she was glaring at me even harder. 'If looks could kill…'**

**"****Come on Katniss, you can trust me can't you?"**

**"****I'm sure I can't." she said back wanting to drop the subject, but I wouldn't let it go.**

**"****Even after I saved your life?" I asked. She didn't say anything.**

**"****You're gonna have to do a lot more than save my life Odair."**

**This girl was unusual. I look at her now and that little girl that was inches away from death is not the women I see before me. I saved her life and in returns she runs away from me like I'm the plague. She's very confusing.**

**I sighed with frustration at her. "Its not like I can stop you…"**

**"****No you wouldn't have."**

**My eyes widened, hearing the threat laced in her words. Oh yeah she was definitely hiding something. Something deadly.**

**I smiled sweetly at her and said, "You got a little fire in you don't you kitty?" That really got her annoyed. She glared at me again. "Don't call me that." she said quietly.**

**"****Why not kitten?" I said messing with her nerves.**

**She hffed at me and walked away. I followed her to the hallway, wondering where she was going. She turned abruptly facing me and asked, "Which room is mine?"**

**"****I don't know. I there are three rooms in this apartment but I kind of thought you would be sleeping on the couch." I said. She glared at me and started walking towards the a room just on the right of mine.**

**"****Plus…" I muttered and she turned around. "There are no other fireplaces in any of the bedrooms." I didn't say there was one in the room I was residing in but I didn't think it was necessary to tell her. She frowned deeply and looked back at me.**

**"****It would be really cold in those rooms and I'm sure you would want to miss a chance being in front of perfectly heated fire." I said a matter of fact.**

**She sighed in defeat and walked back into the living room I followed her and saw that she was making herself comfortable under the covers I had given her. She curled up on one side of the couch and I sat down on the empty spot she didn't take up.**

**We sat quietly listening to the fire crackle and the light breeze that whistled past the trees outside.**

**"****I use to sit infront of a fire like this." I began. I felt her gaze land on me. "I would go out fishing with my father and we would some times come home with a fish sometimes one for each of us. My father, mother and my brothers. We would start a fire just like this one and cook the fish over it. Even though we have oven and stove, mom always appreciated it over a nice fire. Sometimes we could catch anything. It wasn't until two years after I'd learned how to hunt that found out that the capital controls the amount of fish that pass the mile size cage of water we are allowed to fish in."**

**I had gotten Katniss's attention with that bit of information. Her eyes widened in recognition and I smiled to myself at how this conversation was gonna go. It might have seemed manipulative at the time but I wanted to know this girl, she fascinated me.**

**She looked as if she was going to say something, she opened her mouth to speak but she closed it and looked back at the fire. Maybe she's smarter than I give her credit for.**

**"****Come on Katniss. No campfire stories you can tell?" I asked her hoping to lighten the mood. She looked me in the eyes and made a face that said 'I'm not humoring you'.**

**I burst out laughing at her expression, shaking my head at her personality. "We are gonna be here for a while kitten, no sense in making the time boring."**

**She looked back at me and back at the fire. I could tell she was contemplating if she should say anything.**

**I was about to give up on this whole conversation thing and get up to go to bed.**

**"****My father…"**

**I looked back at her in surprise and waited patiently for her to continue. "My father use to part of this group, that his father use to be in before Panem and his father even before the districts called Usa. He said it was for when the war started. He said his great grandfather was in a dispute over making the different… properties into more of larger area of population. The law was past and it became thirteen districts cut off from the world.**

**"****Why?" I said interrupting her.**

**"****Why what? Why'd they cut off the countries?" she asked but I had a feeling already knew the answer.**

**"****Because they wanted us defenseless. They made sure we had no help from the outside, and could only rely on the resources that were given to us with slowly limited information."**

**"****Slowly?" I had asked.**

**"****Mom doesn't like me asking but there was a world before the civil world and Panem. The more years go by, the more they add to the history books and more they take away from them. Always changing something." She muttered.**

**"****What about your dad?" I asked.**

**"****As you can see where everything is going, the civil war happened and everyone was fearful. And my grandfather was moved like everyone else to a different district. My mother and my father met and thats how I got into the Seams." She said wrapping up the stories quickly.**

**She left out a lot of stuff in that story, I could tell. But I was happy that I got anything from her.**

**"****How did your father hunt?" I asked her.**

**She smiled at me and said, "Why don't you guess?"She started to get comfortable under the covers, where she was almost laying down with her feet almost touching my thigh.**

**"****Uhhhm,..." I said scratching the back of my neck.**

**"****A sword?" I asked. She looked at me like I was crazy. "A sword? Seriously?"**

**"****Hey, hey some people go for the swords when they play!" I whined trying to explain myself. She giggled at me and told me keep guessing.**

**"****A gun?"**

**"****No, too loud." She said yawning and looking back at the fire.**

**I started thinking harder about what kind of man her father might have been to be hunting. I looked at Katniss and saw her smirking under the covers.**

**"****Sigh, I don't know!" I pouted. She outright laughed at me and I realized I kind of like hearing her laugh.**

**"****Can you tell me?" I asked innocently.**

**"****No." She said deadpan. "Figure it out yourself."**

**I said a few more weapons I've seen during training day but I gave up after I said ax.**

**"****Katniss...Katniss!" I looked back over at her from the fire. She was curled up in a little ball under the covers fast asleep.**

**I breathed in and started to get up from the couch to head to my room.**

**"****Good night, Kitten."**

**_Yay its done! Hope you enjoyed and sorry it took so long. I'ma try and get one more chapter in before I'll be leaving for a while. Favorite and Review Please. I hope the wait was worth it._**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: So it looks like as the chapters go on I get better so thats good. This is another revised chapter. **

**Chapter 3 Before the Fall Part 3**

**I felt the morning sun come into the window of my room but I ignored it, trying to focus on my dream of a little birdy flying over the ocean. **

**"****Finnick…"**

**There was a noise by me that was taking me away from my dream. I squeezed my eyes to stay in my head but I heard the noise again.**

**"****Finnick…"**

**I mumbled something but tried to stayed snug in my covers. "Go away…"**

**I heard movement near me and I felt the sun go away. I wiggled deeper into the covers to keep the cold from creeping up again.**

**"****FINNICK!"**

**I don't actually remember how we ended up on the floor with me on top of her, with my hands around her neck. At the time I wasn't thinking about how small she was under me or more importantly the look of murder that flashed in her eyes, I only saw the hurt and fear that was predominantly there. I jumped off of Katniss and pushed myself towards the post of the bed. I saw her push herself back and I felt all the worse.**

**"****The hell Finnick?" She gasped reaching for her neck, looking bewildered.**

**"****I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry." I shouted back at her. I wanted her to calm down but I was getting more frantic.**

**"****Finnick! Finnick! Calm down! I'm fine! I'm not mad!" She yelled back but it was hard to pay attention. I was back in the forest and someone, I think, from District 12, stood over me with a knife in his hand.**

**"****Finnick!"**

**The boy pulled his arm away ready to stab me. I pushed him away into the shallow part of the lake I was laying beside. I got on top of him and pushed him further down to the bottom of the water by his neck.**

**"****Finnick!" I felt a hand hit me upside the face and I fall back onto the bed post. I heard a groan escape me and saw Katniss, now standing up, frowning down at me.**

**"****Are you awake now?" She asked impatiently.**

**"****Um...yeah, I think so?" I said unsure of myself. She closed her eyes a shook her head as if she was trying to forget what happened.**

**"****Then lets go. I need to get home."**

**I followed her back into the living room as I told her where her clothes were. I grabbed a towel and a rag for her to wash herself. **

**"****Thanks Finnick." She said taking the stuff from my hand.**

**"****No problem, Kitten." I said back. She gave me a hard look and went into the bathroom connected to the hallway.**

**I went to go get myself dressed, yawning to myself .I didn't get much rest after I went to bed. Too many nightmares haunting me and most of them were flashes of events that happened in the arena. The cold air still got to my room and it felt like I was trapped in that icy woods again. After a view minutes in my room, I heard a sound through the wall. I put my long sleeve shirt on and walked out of the room to find that noise.**

**_Deep in the meadow, hidden far away_**

**_A cloak of leaves, A moonbeam ray,_**

**_Forget your woes and let your troubles lay_**

**_And when again it's morning, they'll wash away._**

**She stopped singing and started humming. My body started to lean against the wall next to the bathroom door. The words had me remember when the games was over, when I woke up back in bed inside the tower with the window setting still on the forest.**

**I heard the water shut off and Katniss stumble out of the bathtub. I moved away from the door and returned to my room pretending I didn't hear her. After I put on my shoes she walked in with her clean jean pants, brown boots, green long sleeve shirt and rain coat.**

**Her hair was still dripping from the water but was held together by the braid that fell over her shoulder.**

**"****Are you ready? she asked.**

**"****Yeah." I said combing my hair back with my hand.**

**I looked out the window beside the door to make sure if any peacekeepers were around. It was early in the morning and the ground was covered in frost from the cold air. Like I thought, the peacekeepers weren't there.**

**"****Ok, they're not there so we can go, but I need to be back within two hours because my...hi! what up!"**

**Katniss was already down the sidewalk to the gate. I caught up to her as she walked through the gate. It was by this time I realize she was carrying half the loaf of bread that was soaked by the rain.**

**"****I didn't know you brought that with you?"**

**"****My family needs something to eat. I was suppose to find something last night but I lost track of time…"**

**"****And lost consciousness." I added. The town came in view and we didn't see any civilians or peacekeepers in sight. Katniss ignored my comment and continued walking into town. The dirt was still slippery to walk on from the rain that started after Katniss fell asleep. **

**We passed the two buildings indicating which side the seams and the other, the central part of the district. No one was around and the sun still hadn't came up. The only sound that could be heard was the squishy steps we made and the rickety sounds of the buildings we past by.**

**"****Katniss!" I hissed out, putting my hand in front of her. There off in the distance a peacekeeper was leaning against door. We both paused our movement and waited to see if he would see us. He wasn't facing us. It looked like he was facing something else. He let out a burst of laughter and Katniss and I jumped back, however the peacekeeper didn't look towards us. From what Haymitch has said, Victors are not allowed to socialize with other with other people from different districts. I was not allowed to be seen with another from a different district for too long. But they would assume, from the way we both were standing too close and covered in the same amount of drizzle and mud at this very second.**

**It was after that thought that I saw more peacekeeper coming around the corner of the building, the one we saw was leaning on.**

**I quickly pushed Katniss behind a building, before one of the peacekeepers looked our way.**

**"****We need to keep moving. They'll walk down here and see us eventually." Katniss whispered.**

**"****Where do expect we go? This ally is blocked." I whispered back.**

**She looks around her and saw we were trapped between two buildings and an old wooden wall has tall as both buildings.**

**She squeezed her eyes closes in concentration which I found indoring. Opening her eyes again a second later, she marched over to the wooden wall and felt around the planks.**

**"****What are you doing?"**

**Then Katniss kicked in the plank and made a hole through it. "The hell Katniss!" I turned back around and looked out the alley to see if they noticed the sound. The peacekeepers that were at least thirty yards away started to look around. They couldn't yet see me, but they were getting close.**

**I heard a loud bang. I turned to Katniss and found her still trying to break down the part of the wood from the wall.**

**"****Hi, lets check over here!" I heard one of them yell.**

**"****Katniss we don't have much time! They coming over here!" I hissed out.**

**"****Then it would be useful if you help push down the wall too!" she said still kicking in the old plank of wood.**

**I rushed by her side and started to kick the wood. We got louder as we got impatient with the results.**

**"****Guys! The sounds are coming from here!" They were getting closer and there was only enough room for one at a time.**

**"****You go first!" I rushed her.**

**She didn't hesitate to pull herself through the small hole. I heard the voices of the peacekeepers as if they were right next to me. I slided my way through the hole as fast as I could.**

**"****Hey!"**

**Katniss helped me get through and quickly turned to her in panic. "Run!"**

**I looked back only a second to see the men in white crowd around the wall wondering what made the hole.**

**We stopped behind a group a trees trying to catch our breaths. By this time the sun was peaking through the hills and more and more people started to come out of their homes.**

**Katniss was smiling up at me with mirth and I just shook my head shaking off the adrenaline.**

**" ****We made it!" I smiled.**

**"****We're alive." she breathed out looking at her surroundings still smiling to herself.**

**"****Look." she pointed at a house a little ways away from most of the houses near by.**

**"****Is that your home?"**

**"****Yeah! Lets go! Before more peacekeepers see us." She said with more enthusiasm than I've seen her for the 10 hours I've known her.**

**We walked towards a little house with three windows. I saw the front door hanging of its henge with thats been worn down so much it didn't fit the threshold properly. Katniss put a hand to my chest telling me to stop.**

**"****Wait here."**

**I watched her walk into the old house and waited. Seconds started to turn into minutes and I was becoming impatient. My escort told me she would arrive at nine o'clock to pick me up to take me back to District Four. I was beginning to question why I was still standing here until a little girl no younger than seven started to push the door open and look straight at me.**

**"****Hm, you can come in if you want…" The little girl said with a bell like voice. I nodded my head and moved forward to the house. I got a closer look at the little girl and she had stringy blond hair and clear blue eyes. She looked nothing like Katniss, who had long deep brown hair and hollow gray eyes.**

**She lead me inside and as soon as I past the threshold I heard shouting coming from a room off to the side.**

**"****Wait here, she'll be done in a minute." the little girl whispered. "Do you want anything?"**

**I did want something because I forgot to eat breakfast before we left but I looked around the little house and saw the conditions that everything was in. "We have some cheese in the refrigerator and some milk I just made from my goat." she praised herself.**

**" ****You're a life saver Little Duck." Katniss announced. She smiled softly at what I resume is her sister. The little girl giggled to herself blushing.**

**I stood by and watched Katniss hug her sister with affection I wasn't sure she was about to produce.**

**"****I asked our guest, if he wanted any of our milk and cheese." she stated. I was glad I didn't answer right away because the look on Katniss's face said that wasn't an option.**

**"****Its ok." looking at her sister. "I've already eaten." I lied. Katniss had no expression on her face after I said that.**

**"****Prim, I'll be out for a little while again." A look of devastation was on Prim's face but she tried to hide it. "I won't be out long, the rain has finally stopped so there should be something out there." said Katniss trying to reassure her.**

**"****Okayyy." Prim whined.**

**"****Come on, Odair." Katniss breathed out while walking to the door. Before I left I watched as Prim walk back into the room Katniss was in.**

**Once we got outside, I followed her a little ways away back into town. "Where are we going?" I asked.**

**We were walking in the path I walked when I first explored the district. Before I found her.**

**She didn't answer my question and just kept walking.**

**"****How old are you anyway?" I asked.**

**"****Its not obvious?" She asked with sarcasm.**

**"****Do you want me to guess like last night?" I said smirking at her.**

**She turns her head and rolls her eyes keeping pace on a dirt road. "I'm eleven." she stated plainly. My eyes widened at that. She looked so much younger. I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt with how old she acted but eleven was not what I imaged.**

**"****You got something to say Odair." She said back with an attitude**

**"****Nothing at all Kitten."**

**She huffed and walked on.**

**"****What was going on back there?" I asked her to keep the silence from creeping up.**

**"****What do you mean?" she asked deadpan. She didn't want to talk about this but I have a problem with my curiousity. She went stiff as she walked further past the old abandoned houses, not looking my way when I kept trying to meet her eyes.**

**"****Katniss…"**

**"****I didn't know careers could be so nosey." she said a matter-a-fact. I widened my eyes at that, not expecting that comment. She was getting defensive and I thought I should back off a while. I let it go after that and we both stayed in a state of silence. It was a little over a minute later when we arrived at a field of tall grass.**

**"****Hey…" I said to myself. I look up and Katniss was already going through the field. "I've been here before." I said rushing after her.**

**She turns to me with her eyebrows raised in amusement at my hagardness. "Oh really?" she asked with little curiosity.**

**I pouted at her and she let out giggle much more louder than Prims but oddly all the same. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I walked here just before I found you."**

**"****Your started to grow a hero complex. Sorry I was the cause of it." She said shaking her head.**

**"****How would you be the cause of it?" I asked smirking behind her.**

**"****Because you saved my life." She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world but I heard the gratefulness laced in it.**

**"****And am I gonna get a thank you with that Ms…" I paused to myself. Did she even tell me her last name?**

**"****It Everdeen. I'm Katniss Everdeen." She stated. I smiled back at her. "Well Ms. Everdeen. Are you going to give me my thank you?" I said with an obnoxious Capital accent. She burst out laughing at that and I found myself wanting to hear it again.**

**"****In you dreams Odair."**

**"****Here we are." she sighs out in relief.**

**We stood in front of the long gate I saw before. By now the trees and plants rose tall to the sun soaking in its nutrients like it was their last supper.**

**"****Can I trust you?"**

**I shake out of my daydream at look back at the small girl. "What?"**

**"****Can I trust you?" she asked slowly. I didn't know, could she? I'll look back at this moment and think why didn't I say yes sooner. But now I am young and I only started to understand the meaning of trust. I remembered the first time I openly declared trust upon a person and someone openly declared trust upon me. That person nearly killed me in my sleep and I killed him for it. With this memory in mind, I didn't think I could trust Katniss let alone let her trust me. I wanted to go back before my name was called and I step foot into the Capital. However, theses are not the Games and she's not a tribute.**

**"****Yes." I look down at Katniss and she conveyed nothing. Whether she was shocked or scared, amused or disappointed, but has the seconds went by of her staring into my soul to see whether she could trust me. This made me anxious. More time went by and I was slowly mentally begging for her to trust me. It was the anxiety I got when training started and my escort nearly pounded into me that I need allies. And now, I felt I didn't have anyone else I could turn too. Mags was a tribute too but I want normalcy, I wanted someone who didn't judge me for what I've done.**

**"****Alright then…" she inhaled and looked away from me to the electric fence. "Lets go." she said finally.**

**"****What do you mean? Go where?" She walked forward and swung her legs over the wire and through the fence to the other side without touching it. I stared in shock and looked at her through the fence. **

**"****Well come on Finnick, we don't got all day!" She shouted back as she kept on walking.**

**"****How do I get through?" I yelled back. We were too far away for anyone to hear our shouting.**

**"****The fence isn't even on, Odair." she said stop and waiting for me impatiently.**

**Thats strange. I walked to the wire and listened out for the humming sound I heard earlier. I heard nothing. I slowly put hand on the thin metal and nothing happened.**

**" ****You take your sweet time testing the fence." She said irritated.**

**"****Can't be too sure, Kitten." I said playfully as a slide my way through and by her side.**

**We walked on into the woods far enough where we didn't see the fence anymore. The forest was still mostly bare but has we went deeper the thicker the leaves got.**

**"****What are we doing her Katniss?" We had walked far into the forest and the sun was nearly high in the sky. The way the shadows leaned from the trees it was now 8 o'clock in the morning. Waited for answer but the eleven year old gave me none. We came to this small tree. Nothing was out of the ordinary about it except the long and narrow hole in its trunk.**

**"****You are going to help me feed my district." She said simply. Feed her district?**

**Like it was some great reveal, she pulls out a brown bow. So this is what she was hiding. She walks over to a log a little ways away and pulled out bundle of arrows.**

**"****Come on we need to make you a spear so you can catch some fish." She said as she examined the trees around her. She walks further into the trees and a rushed after her. "Hey, hey, hey, wait!"**

**"****What?" She said as she reached and pulled on a branch. "Are we allowed to be here?" I asked in astonishment. **

**"****We just past an electric fence that surrounds the district and you ask if we are allowed to be out here?" she says as if the answer to the question was obvious. She swings the bundle of arrows around her shoulder and pulls out a small knife and handed it and the stick to me.**

**"****How many times have you been out here?" I asked slowly. I looked around for a hidden camera.**

**"****Since Prim was born…" she said. "Come on you need to make a spear so we can start hunting. I promised someone I would have game before noon."**

**_Because aisyaraisya asked, this chapter is longer. The next chapter will be the last of the Before The Fall arch and I'll be moving on to the actual Hunger Games. Plus it would really be awesome if some of you would give some suggestions or point out any mistakes that I've made. FAVORITE AND REVIEW!_**


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